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Kenai, Soldotna hoops tourneys tip off

The Kenai Central, Soldotna and Galena girls basketball teams all picked up victories on Thursday in the first day of the round-robin Kenai River Challenge at Kenai Central High SchoolThe Kenai girls defeated Bethel 51-42. Morgan Wensley led the Kards with 24 points. Kira Polk matched Wensley’s 24 for Bethel, while Rhianna Joseph added 13.Kenai led 33-25 heading into the final quarter. Both teams were solid from the line, with Kenai going 13 for 14 and Bethel hitting 6 of 7.The Soldotna girls cruised past Mt. Edgecumbe 61-32.The Stars connected on seven 3-pointers in the game. Kelci Benson hit four of those treys en route to a game-high 20 points. Kaillee Skjold added 12 points for the Stars.Brandi Hale and Taryn White had seven points to lead Mt. Edgecumbe.Galena used accurate shooting to defeat Nikiski 53-34.The Hawks made seven 3-pointers in the game, and got treys from five different players. Jenna Buchanan had 15 points, while Bethany Green added 13.For the Bulldogs, Rachel Thompson had 11 points, while Savannah Griffel added 10.Today, Soldotna plays Bethel at 4 p.m., Nikiski plays Mt. Edgecumbe at 5:30 p.m. and Kenai faces Galena at 7 p.m.Saturday, Soldotna plays Galena at noon, Nikiski plays Bethel at 1:30 p.m. and Kenai faces Mt. Edgecumbe at 3 p.m.

Powerade/Al Howard Tip-Off TournamentBethel, Kenai Central, Seward and Soldotna all picked up victories on the first day to advance to the semifinals.Soldotna defeated North Pole 72-52. Evan Withrow had 19 points for the Stars, while Garrett Bosick added 11. Tanner Fowler had 10.For North Pole, Michael Hale pumped in 12.Kenai defeated Galena 65-46. The Kardinals put four players in double figures: Shane Spalding had 17, Colten Hayes and AJ Hull had 16, and Bo Reilly had 10.Curtis Richardson had 18 points for the Hawks, while Kody Vanderpool added 12.Seward beat Mt. Edgecumbe 65-57, with Jalen Terry leading the Seahawks with 21 points, while Matt Moore had 20 and Jeff Buchanan had 11.Bethel topped Homer 65-45. Theodore Naneng had 27 points for Bethel, while Austin Miller had 18 and Kyle Koester added 11. For Homer, Robin Glosser had 17 points.In tournament action today, the semifinals feature Bethel vs. Kenai at 6:30 p.m. and Seward vs. Soldotna at 8:15 p.m. In the fifth-place bracket, Homer plays Galena at 3 p.m. and Mt. Edgecumbe plays North Pole at 4:45 p.m.Saturday, the seventh-place game is at 11 a.m., the fifth-place game is at 12:45 p.m., the third-place game is at 2:30 p.m. and the championship is at 4:15 p.m.